As BmoreArt founder Cara Ober explains in the introduction to the organization’s latest publication, “City of Artists, Baltimore” (218 pp., $60), this distinctive project grew out of her friendship with former Ivy Bookshop owner Ed Berlin. Combining their connections to and knowledge of the art and literary communities of the city, the pair set an ambitious course. “Our goal is nothing short of elevating the reputation of Baltimore as a model for other cities where art and culture form the legacy of place through the combination of many of the greatest minds that exist there,” Ober writes.
So, yes, it’s a booster project — but one with an exciting, diverse, and enormously talented cast. (See below for a complete list of artists and writers involved.) You may recognize some of the artists — John Waters at least, and Derrick Adams, who has the cover — but even if it’s largely news to you, as it was to me, it’s a stunning collection, with several works by each artist.
I discovered so much to love. Se Jong Cho’s color-block steamroom and spa ladies. Jerrell Gibbs’ narrative paintings about Black family life. The psychedelic installations of Phaan Howng. Voodoo-adjacent assemblages and objects by Oletha Devane and Joyce Scott. With so much of the work in bold, luscious color, the black-and-white photorealist charcoal drawings of Erin Fostel and photography of J.M. Giordano seem all the more sensuous. I’m only stopping with those few because I could go on too long.
As I learned from my interview with the team behind the book, the essays were assembled first, then an artist was chosen to match each one. Figuring out the connections between the pairs is a fun parlor game. The first piece in the book, Laura Lippman’s “I Cover the Waterfront,” talks about how during the pandemic she developed the habit of jump-starting her creative day by walking and photographing in her neighborhood in Locust Point. She is paired with René Treviño’s “Axial Progressions,” below. Those things look like mandalas to me — and since mandalas are a way of focusing and meditating, maybe that’s the connection?
In accordance with the goal of the book, the prompt the writers were given was “What is it about Baltimore that inspires you? What is it about this city, that has given you a certain viewpoint or sensitivity that makes you a better writer?” It’s a bit of a leading question, as well as a potential setup for “me-me-me,” so I enjoyed seeing the ways the essayists opened it up and took it in different directions. Like my former student D Watkins, who chips in a story about a girlfriend who only hated one thing more than she hated the city of Baltimore: the author’s then-nascent writing career. Anyway, I have lots of friends in this book! Good work, friends.
Just in time for Christmas, the team behind BmoreArt has created a really gorgeous artifact of our city’s culture. Here’s my interview, conducted virtually, with four of the main players.
BFB: City of Artists tells a story through images and text – not with the images as illustrations of the text, or with the text as explanations of the images, but as separate and equal components. Tell us about the why and how of that decision, and how it is expressed in the design and structure of the book.
Raquel Castedo: The approach to designing this publication centered on discovering the most effective way to translate and elevate the overall editorial concept of the book. When Cara, Ed, and I began discussing design strategies, they had nearly all the essays completed, and the title was already decided. The notion of presenting Baltimore as a city of artists excited me a lot.
The project was ambitious: to develop a book design strategy that would effectively accommodate texts and images from 32 contributors, uplifting each of them. Bringing a book to life is always a collaborative process, and we had the best team in place to make it happen. Having Chelsea Lemon-Fetzer join the book team as contributing editor and Inés Sanchez de Lozada as project coordinator was crucial.
The materiality of the book aligns with the main editorial project goal: bringing together Baltimore’s vibrant contemporary art and literature communities and contributing to the city’s visual culture repertoire. Each writer was paired with a visual artist based on their narrative similarities, sharing a section. The openings for each section present the essays and works of art in a similar hierarchy to make it clear that images are not there to illustrate the text but to engage in a visual conversation.
BFB: How did that idea of a “visual conversation” play out in the graphic treatment and production of the book?
RC: We employed an elegant type treatment and a bold color palette, applying color codes to each section. The various shades were also integrated into the binding process. This edition is a Smith-sewn book, with thread exposed in the spine. It is Swiss-bound with a soft cover featuring large flaps, all printed on high-quality paper to create a collectible object.
BFB: What about the cover?
RC: There were many ideas around what would go on the cover. After seeing the options we had, I was pulled to the image we ended up picking for the cover immediately. I was not familiar with Derrick Adams’ work at that point, but felt that it had all the elements we needed for a great book cover.
Cara Ober: On the cover, not only does the subject of this portrait make eye contact with the viewer, the streets and three dimensional cars reference a cityscape. The colors, orange and purpley blue, are subtle but specifically reference Baltimore’s hometown teams. This image, graphic and bold, and depicting a possible artist or writer from Baltimore, felt right to the team, and Adams was quick to agree.
BFB: And what would you say is the story the book tells?
Chelsea Lemon-Fetzer: “City of Artists” doesn’t tell one story; that’s my favorite thing about it. Like Baltimore itself, it is a mosaic. The personal essays offer a panorama of Baltimore landscapes. All of the contributing writers are rooted in this city, yet we each have a different frame, perspective, and story: a first date, a messy break up, fixing an old rowhouse, following the Jones Falls to its headwaters, starting a career as a restaurateur, serving as Director of the Baltimore Museum of Art– that’s a glimpse of only a few.
Now the art–paintings, drawings, photographs, sculpture, installations, and hybrid works by many of Baltimore’s current premier artists–is the book’s visual panorama. The works are immersive, stunningly well printed and designed, and invite the reader to step into a different way of experiencing and imagining.
CO: It was essential for our team that this book tell a story about Baltimore that is authentic, but that also highlights the high level of artistic quality that so many people–even long-term Baltimore residents–don’t realize exists. We have so many globally respected writers and visual artists, but since Baltimore lacks much of the infrastructure (galleries, publishing houses, pr/marketing, publications) to promote them, individually and collectively, our city does not have the reputation for creative excellence that it deserves.
For me, the title of the book, City of Artists, was an interesting conundrum to unpack. Baltimore is full of artists, all kinds and all shapes and sizes. Why does our city attract so many artists? And what impact does Baltimore have on the quality and integrity of the art produced here? This book makes the argument that the conditions in this city, while not perfect, offer a unique substrate and context for art to tackle the “great” issues of our time. It’s real to us, the history is palpable, the social inequities and resilience of the human condition is all here, and this imbues all the art made here, from music to literature to performance to visual art, with a social conscience and an integrity that what we are doing matters.
BFB: How were the visual artists chosen, and who selected the individual works for inclusion?
CO: From the beginning we had decided to work with Baltimore-based artists whose professional success matched those of the collective group of writers. This means their careers are based here, but they have exhibited work across the country, are included in national museum collections, and are building a national following. There are many artists based in Baltimore who fit this criteria, so from a list of about sixty artists who met our criteria, we then selected based on the story their work tells, looking for specific alignment and a shared aesthetic with individual essays.
CLF: The visual artists were chosen after we had received and read the essays. Cara, Raquel, Inés, Ed, and I came together as a team, very much guided by the writers, to talk about themes, emotion, and details coming through in the prose. We exchanged ideas on what visual work might echo or be in conversation with that. As you said, we didn’t want the visual work to serve as illustrations; it was important to us that the art be given equal gravity in all its stories. We liked the idea that a reader would draw their own connections between the prose and art, maybe even beyond the ideas we had.
BFB: Were the pairings obvious?
CO: Yes and no. When we set out to do this, I realized that there are no other books or models for us to follow. I wondered if the idea of pairing the art and text was crazy and no one would ‘get’ what we were trying to do… That said, some of the pairings were obvious and others were more abstract. It was also really important to us that the selections matched the rich diversity that exists in Baltimore’s arts ecosystem, and that we include our most well-known artists like Joyce J. Scott, John Waters, and Derrick Adams, as well as artists that may not be as widely known, but will be soon.
CLF: Our pairings list went through a lot of revisions, a lot! The connective threads continuously shifted in our minds. Bringing the artists into the conversation to choose individual works–sometimes arranging studio visits, home visits, communicating with representing galleries–was a major part of that process. When we landed on the final layout there was a unanimous sense of, Yes. That’s it!
BFB: How were the writers chosen?
Ed Berlin: I met dozens of talented writers during my tenure as owner of The Ivy Bookshop. I approached many of my favorites and am gratified that most agreed to contribute an original essay to the book. What I asked them was to write a piece that reflected their feelings about Baltimore. To write about a specific experience or place. What we got was an amazing array of everyday moments, some intimate, some hilarious and a few poignant. Taken together, these pieces provide a fresh take on our hometown, and combined with the art portfolios, they remind us of why we choose to live here.
BFB: Does the book have an online presence as well?
CO: We have an online shop, but that’s as far as an online presence goes. This book’s meaning is embedded in its design as a physical object. It is a beautiful, limited edition, work of art in itself and releasing it online would diminish its power and quality. For an initial printing, we did 1000 copies because it was the most we could handle as a small team, and now we are almost sold out of them! We are now considering a second print run because so many people seem to value this object and want it, and we want them to have it. So we are now actively seeking out the funding to do this.
*****
Writers: Rafael Alvarez, Madison Smartt Bell, Doreen Bolger, Sheri Booker, celeste doaks, E. Doyle-Gillespie, Michael Anthony Farley, Kondwani Fidel, Lane Harlan, Lori Johnson, Chelsea Lemon Fetzer, Laura Lippman, Stanley Mazaroff, Scott Shane, Ron Tanner, D. Watkins
Visual Artists: Derrick Adams, Schroeder Cherry, Se Jong Cho, Alyssa Dennis, Oletha DeVane, Erin Fostel, Jerrell Gibbs, JM Giordano, Phaan Howng, Jeffrey Kent, Jackie Milad, Edgar Reyes, Joyce J. Scott, Jordan Tierney, René Treviño, John Waters
*****
Launch celebration for “Baltimore: City of Artists” at the Pratt Library
December 5, 7 pm, details here
Cara Ober hosts contributors Madison Smartt Bell, Lane Harlan and Sheri Booker
